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State BJYM officials and resource persons pose for a group photo during the youth parliament held in the college premises of Pranabananda Women’s College on September 29.[/caption]
Dimapur, Sep. 30 (EMN): State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) has organised a Youth Sansad (Youth Parliament) on September 29 at Pranabananda Women’s College, Dimapur.
Assistant commissioner, Smt. N Bhavani, and Ani Yepthomi, director of junior high, Livingstone Foundation Higher Secondary School, Dimapur, were the speakers. They spoke on the topics “Women empowerment and new India” and “Role of youth in the making of New India.”
Addressing the audience mostly comprised of PWC students, Bhavani said that women in Nagaland are getting more privilege in terms of education. She said there was no female infanticide or dowry system in Nagaland unlike in many parts of the country. She said education, which is equally imparted to the girl child in Nagaland, is a great tool towards women empowerment but regretted that not a single woman is being represented in the state assembly or parliament currently. She felt it was important to have women legislators who can frame policies suiting the needs of women as women can only understand the needs of other women.
Bhavani said, “In Nagaland people don’t report much to the police regarding harassment to women and other crimes against women.” She said that anti-social elements were mostly targeting college girls for enslaving them into flesh trade. Bhavani cautioned the students to be aware of such traps.
She also discouraged girls from inculcating the habit of chewing tobacco saying that oral and oesophagus cancer was most prevalent in Nagaland as per records from government hospitals.
Ani Yepthomi, in her presentation, urged the students to have feelings for those less privileged and experience the joy of giving.
“You don’t need position to serve or show kindness to fellow beings,” Yepthomi said and urged the students to know who they are and what they want to become in life.
PWC’s principal, Uma Bhowmick, also exhorted the girl students not to feel lesser than the male counterparts. “Women are physically weak but mentally strong” she said. She said the mindset of both gender has to be changed for women to be empowered.
“Women should not feel themselves weak but you should help yourself first,” she said.